This invention relates to covers for electrical receptacles, and, more particularly, covers for electrical receptacles which are of the "weatherproof" or "waterproof" type.
It is a primary object of the present invention to afford a novel cover for electrical receptacles.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel cover for electrical receptacles which is particularly well adapted for outdoor use and for use around marinas, and the like, the cover affording effective protection against the weather and against the entry of water therethrough.
Covers for electrical receptacles which are intended to afford protection against the weather, and for protection against the entry of water therethrough have been heretofore known in the art. However, covers of this type which have been heretofore known in the art have had several inherent disadvantages, such as, for example, not being readily opened and closed; not affording effective protection when an electric plug, or the like, is inserted therein; not being of a type which will automatically close when an electric plug is disconnected from the receptacle mounted thereon or therein; requiring a manual operation for closing the cover; or being complicated in construction and operation and difficult and expensive to manufacture, or the like. It is an important object of the present invention to overcome such disadvantages.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel cover of the aforementioned type, which embodies a spring-actuated door or lid for opening and closing the same, and which door or lid is normally, yieldingly, spring-held in closed position.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel cover of the aforementioned type wherein, when the door is in closed position, it is disposed in effective sealing engagement with a sealing element, so as to insure that water will not enter through the cover into the receptacle.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel cover of the aforementioned type which is practical and efficient in operation and which may be readily and economically produced commercially.
Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired to those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.